A former Manchester United defender accidentally broke his teammate’s jaw during a recent Libertadores clash.
Very rarely do you see such a gruesome injury inflicted on a player as the one sustained by Racing’s Santiago Sosa earlier this week.
On Thursday (October 23), Brazilian side Flamengo ran out 1-0 winners against Argentina’s Racing Club at the iconic Maracana during the first leg of the sides’ Libertadores tie.
Jorge Carrascal’s late strike handed the Rio de Janeiro side the advantage ahead of next Thursday’s second leg in Avellaneda, but it’s fair to say Sosa will not be involved.
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The 26-year-old, who previously played for River Plate and MLS side Atlanta United, suffered a gruesome injury when challenging for an airborne ball in the dying embers of yesterday’s match.
The midfielder attempted to challenge for the ball while a Flamengo player raced towards it, only for his own teammate, former Man United centre-back Marcus Rojo, to also try and win the ball and, in doing so, smash him into the ground.
Rojo’s elbow appeared to make contact with Sosa’s jaw before the 26-year-old fell to the floor in agony.
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Images quickly began circulating showing the extent of his injury, with blood appearing to be flowing from his mouth, while the right side of his face was swollen, with his right eye closed over.
A statement released by Racing after the match confirmed the extent of Sosa’s injuries.
“Santiago Sosa was transferred last night to a medical centre where he underwent tests,” the statement read.
“The player remained under observation, was discharged this morning, and presents a fracture of the right upper maxillary sinus. He will be evaluated in Buenos Aires by a maxillofacial surgeon to determine the therapeutic approach.”
According to One Football, the player spent the night in a Rio hospital before being released under the recommendation to see a specialist.
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It must be noted that Rojo purely had eyes for the ball and did not intend to hurt his own teammate, but the incident will be a reminder of the former Argentina international’s time at United.
The 35-year-old joined United from Sporting CP for £16 million in 2014 but failed to live up to expectations during his seven-year stint with the Red Devils, during which he made 122 appearances.
After falling out of favour, he returned to Argentina, joining Boca Juniors in 2021, with reports from ESPN suggesting that he found out his United career was over via social media rather than being informed by the club.
Topics: Football, Injury, Manchester United, Flamengo
Luke Davies